Earl Grey Macarons

These Earl Grey Macarons are filled with a silky buttercream flavored with Earl Grey tea. They’re the perfect snack for afternoon tea time!

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Earl Grey Macaron Recipe

• Powdered Sugar – Sift your powdered sugar and almond flour together because the almond flour doesn’t sift well on its own. (Almond flour has a lot of moisture and will get stuck in the sifter)
• Almond Flour – Use finely sifted flour even though you will be sifting again.
• Granulated Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is fine to use.
• Egg Whites – Should be at room temperature so that the meringue whips up faster.
• Egg White Powder – If you have trouble getting a strong meringue, egg white powder will help.
• Vanilla Extract – Adds a nice flavor to the macaron shells.
• Earl Grey Tea – I used two tea bags and it gave the buttercream a lovely, subtle Earl Grey tea flavor.
• Gel food coloring – I mixed blue and black to get this color.

How to Make Earl Grey Macarons

• Prepare your dry ingredients – Sift the powdered sugar and almond flour together. Sifting once is enough.
• Make the meringue – Whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar until you have very stiff peaks. The peaks should stand straight up when you lift the whisk.
• Combine the ingredients and fold the batter – Add the dry ingredients into the meringue and fold the batter until it runs down the spatula in ribbons without breaking.
• Pipe the macaron shells – Hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle and pipe the shells in 3/4 inch circles.
• Tap the baking tray – Tap the tray 7-8 times on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
• Rest the shells – Rest the shells until they are dry to the touch. If you touch the batter and it’s sticky, they’re not ready to bake yet.
• Bake – When ready, bake the shells at 305-310F for 14-16 minutes. (Always use an oven thermometer to make sure you’re baking at the correct temperature)

Earl Grey Macaron Filling

This Earl Grey macaron filling is made with real Earl Grey tea. It’s made by soaking the tea bags in cold cream for about one to two hours in the refrigerator. The cream will take on the flavor of the tea, and you can then add it to your buttercream. It’s a subtle Earl Grey flavor but the perfect amount for these macarons. If you want a stronger tea flavor, you can add another tea bag to the cup.

Below you can see the difference in color once the tea bags have been soaking in the cream for a while.

Earl Grey Buttercream

• Salted Butter (softened) – I always use salted butter in my buttercream but you can use unsalted if you like. Just make sure to add a pinch of salt.
• Powdered Sugar – No need to sift unless the sugar is very clumpy.
• Prepared Earl Grey tea cream – See recipe card for preparation instructions.

Whisk the butter until smooth and add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until all the sugar has mixed into the butter. Add the Earl Grey tea cream and continue mixing until smooth.

How to Store Macarons

Store macarons in an airtight container either in the refrigerator or in the freezer.

Do Macarons Need to be Refrigerated?

Macarons should be refrigerated to maintain freshness. You can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week, removing them about 20-30 minutes before you want to serve them so they come to room temperature.

Can You Freeze Macarons?

Yes, macarons freeze very well. You can freeze filled macarons or unfilled macaron shells for up to two months. I have frozen macarons filled with buttercream, cream cheese buttercream and even fruit jellies and the texture of the filling has not been affected.

To freeze filled macarons:

• Bake and fill the macarons and place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight to mature.
• The next day, remove from refrigerator and place in freezer for up to two months.
• The night before you want to serve the macarons, remove them from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to defrost.
• Remove from refrigerator at least 20-30 minutes and let them come to room temperature before serving.

To freeze unfilled macaron shells:

• Let macaron shells cool after baking and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight to mature.
• Remove from refrigerator and place in freezer for up to two months.
• The night before you plan on filling the shells, remove from freezer and place in refrigerator to defrost.
• Remove shells from refrigerator at least 10-15 minutes before filling so that shells come to room temperature.
• Fill the macarons and place them back into the refrigerator for about an hour so the filling sets.
• Remove from refrigerator and let come to room temperature before serving.

How Long Do Macarons Last?

Macarons can last in the refrigerator up to a week or in the freezer up to two months.

More tea flavored macarons to try

• Matcha Macarons

More delicious macarons to try

• Fruity Pebbles Macarons
• Honey Macarons
• Nutella Macarons
• Coffee Macarons
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Macarons
• Dulce de Leche Macarons

Macaron resources

• Macaron Tools
• Macaron Tips

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Earl Grey Macarons

These Earl Grey Macarons are filled with a silky buttercream flavored with Earl Grey tea. They're the perfect snack for afternoon tea time!

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Resting time20 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: earl grey buttercream, earl grey macarons, macarons

Servings: 18 macarons

Calories: 130kcal

Author: The Tipsy Macaron

Equipment

• Kitchen scale
• Strainer
• Whisk
• Stand mixer
• Spatula
• One 16 inch pastry bag
• Two 8 inch pastry bags
• Round piping tip
• Two silicone mats
• Two half sheet pans
• Oven thermometer
• Small bowl (to mix royal icing)
• Small cup (to soak tea bags)

Ingredients

• 90 grams powdered sugar
• 80 grams almond flour
• 70 grams egg whites (room temperature)
• 70 grams granulated sugar
• 2 grams egg white powder (optional)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 drop navy blue gel food coloring
• 2 drops black gel food coloring

Earl Grey buttercream

• ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1½ tsp heavy whipping cream
• 2 bags Earl Grey tea

Royal icing drizzle

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp meringue powder
• 1 tsp water (room temperature)

Instructions

Prepare the Earl Grey tea cream

• Add 1½ tsp of heavy whipping cream to a small cup and place the tea bags inside to soak in the cream. Make sure the bags are covered by the cream and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Prepare dry ingredients

• Weigh and sift powdered sugar and almond flour using a whisk to break down any clumps. Set aside.
• Line sheet pans with silicone mats.
• Insert the piping tip into the 16 inch pastry bag.

Make the meringue

• Whisk the egg whites on medium speed (speed 4) until you start to see small bubbles (this can take as little as 15 seconds sometimes).
• Slowly add 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time.
• Whisk until you start to see tracks in the meringue.
• Increase the speed to 6 and continue slowly adding the remainder of the granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until you’ve added all the sugar.
• Once you have soft peaks, stop the mixer, scrape the sides and add the vanilla.
• Whisk for about 2 minutes, or until medium peaks, and add gel food coloring.
• Whisk for another 5 minutes or until stiff peaks.

Combine ingredients

• Add the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture in three parts, 1/3 at a time, folding each part until fully combined.
• When folding the batter, slide the spatula under the batter, lift it in a U motion, go over the top of the batter, and slide it under again. This way you make sure to get the batter at the bottom of the bowl.
• Once the batter is fully combined, continue folding a few more times to make sure the dry ingredients are combined well.
• Now you need to deflate some of the air in the batter by taking the spatula and smearing the batter on the sides of the bowl two or three times, and then folding once or twice.
• Continue this process of smearing some of the batter on the side of the bowl and folding once or twice until the batter starts to run off the spatula in ribbons.
• You can test the consistency by lifting the spatula and letting the batter run down. If it falls in ribbons and sinks into itself within 30 seconds, the batter is ready.

Pipe the macarons

• Transfer the batter to the 16 inch pastry bag with the piping tip.
• Holding the pastry bag at a 90° angle, pipe the macarons into ¾ inch circles about 1 inch apart.
• Tap the tray against the counter about 7-8 times to release any air bubbles.
• Let the macarons rest until they form a skin and are no longer sticky.
• While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 310°F.
• Bake the macarons for 14-16 minutes.
• Macarons are ready when they no longer shift if you touch the tops.

Earl Grey buttercream

• In a medium bowl, using the stand mixer, whisk the butter until smooth.
• Add half of the powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined.
• Add the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until combined.
• Remove the cup with the teabags from the refrigerator, squeeze the bags to make sure you get the cream that has soaked into the bags and add all the cream to the buttercream.
• Whisk to combine.

Assemble the macarons

• Fill an 8 inch pastry bag with the buttercream and cut a ½ inch opening at the bottom of the bag.
• Pipe the buttercream in the center of half of the macarons and top the macarons with the remaining halves.

Royal icing drizzle

• In a small bowl, combined the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and a few drops of water and stir with a spoon.
• Continue stirring until fully mixed, adding 1 or 2 more drops of water at a time until the icing sinks back into itself within 10 seconds.
• Transfer icing to an 8 inch pastry bag, cut a small opening at the bottom, and drizzle on macarons.
• Let royal icing dry for about 10 minutes before placing in an airtight container.
• Refrigerate the macarons for at least 24 hours to mature.
• When ready to eat, remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature (around 20-30 minutes).

Notes

All ovens are different so temperature and baking times should only be used as a guide

Mixing bowl should be clean and grease free

Weigh all ingredients in grams for accuracy

Use room temperature egg whites (to bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in a bowl filled with hot water for about 5 minutes)

Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together because almond flour is moist and doesn’t sift well alone

Mix the egg white powder and the granulated sugar before adding to the egg whites to fully dissolve the egg white powder

Whisk the meringue until you have stiff peaks

Let macarons dry before baking so they don’t crack

*Calories reflected are for macaron shells only

Nutrition

Serving: 1 macaron | Calories: 130kcal